Compass Housing Services (Compass) is one of Australia’s largest non-government social housing providers with over 35 years of experience in providing secure and affordable housing and delivering housing products for disadvantaged people who have difficulties sourcing adequate housing. Compass is an enterprising and socially committed not-for-profit organisation that undertakes all aspects of tenancy and property management, including allocations and wait-list management. They have extensive experience in providing tailored tenancy services and tenant development initiatives. Compass provides tenancy and/or property management for over 6500 properties in New South Wales, Queensland and New Zealand. In addition, Compass manages the tenancy of 103 Disability Group Homes in New South Wales, delivering high-quality disability respite and accommodation services.

The lockdowns due to COVID-19 have triggered a shift mentally and physically on what going to work means. The digital environment played a big part in keeping Compass connected and enabling how Compass’ teams work. Compass recognised that adjustments to traditional office locations allowed work to be completed regardless of the circumstances brought on by Covid. Compass recognises flexible work arrangements can help reduce stress levels, increase productivity, boost morale, reduce lateness and absenteeism, reduce employee turnover and enhance the image of Compass being a family-friendly organisation. With this in mind and to ensure Compass is flexible and agile and its workforce is highly engaged, Compass assessed its current workplace flexibility.

Consultation and involvement from all business areas were crucial in gaining buy-in and identifying what ‘the new normal’ would look like for Compass. The first step in this process was the formation of the ‘Future of Work (FoW) workgroup’. The workgroup’s purpose was to provide a consultative forum to effectively review and report on flexible working options for Compass employees, ensuring flexible work options meet the requirements under relevant awards and legislation. Following the formation of the FoW workgroup and building on experience from the initial COVID response, a survey was released organisation wide to assess the long-term implications for working patterns and employment conditions. This survey asked employees to review and comment on various ways Compass could introduce greater flexibility and choice in working conditions. Their survey results indicated a preference for employees to have flexibility in how and when they undertook WFH activities, given the significant requirement for customer-facing duties for frontline employees.

Based on their experience and the results of the New Normal Survey, Compass implemented a hybrid working model to give teams flexibility, trust and empowerment to find a good balance between how and where they organise their work. As a guideline, Compass encouraged teams to seek a 3:2 balance (on average): three days working at the employee’s primary location and two days working from an alternate Compass location or a home office. Where an employee elects to work from an alternate Campus location, prior approval is required from both the employee’s direct manager and the host campus to ensure that adequate workspace is available at the host site and there remain adequate staffing levels at the employee’s primary working location. 

There have been several benefits from Compass implementing greater workplace flexibility. Compass has created a more flexible schedule and reduced staff commuting time. With less time spent commuting and greater flexibility with start and finish times, working from home can help employees improve their work-life balance. Additionally, Compass has experienced improved productivity and a decrease in personal leave, particularly from those in frontline roles. Moreover, due to flexible working arrangements, there has been increased job satisfaction as working from home is considered the top work perk in the recent ‘new normal survey’. Research shows employees who spend a portion of their workweek working from home are reportedly more satisfied with their jobs, contributing to higher staff retention rates. Also, Compass’ integration of workplace flexibility helps the company to attract new talent as it acts as an incentive when recruiting and attracting potential new employees.

For information about Compass Housing Services, visit compasshousing.org